Ellie Jane Arrives!!

This past Monday morning Samantha and I started out from Kingston, TN getting up around 4:30am and then hit the road as soon as we could to meet our new neice!! We are so thankful that Ellie Jane was born so strong and healthy! She is a beautiful baby and her family was so excited! Ryan and Bryan are both doing great and Mary Paul is getting to know her baby sister! We had a wonderful, although fast, visit and can't wait to see them all again!!

All the family in the waiting room awaiting the arrival of Ellie Jane!




Our first time to meet Ellie Jane was through the nursery glass!! A proud father was with her the entire time! We were so excited to see her light colored hair and purple feet and hands :) Landon kept asking why she was naked! :)

ELLIE JANE March 9, 2009 8lbs 12oz and 20 inches long




After lunch and once Ryan was able to go to a regular room we were able to go and see her and Ellie Jane up close and personal. It is amazing how many people and cameras you can fit into one hospital room! Landon and Addi just found their own little corner to play in!


The proud new father!!


I thought these next few pictures were so funny! This is the first time that Bryan had held both Mary Paul and Ellie Jane at the same time. I love Mary Paul's facial expressions as she is trying to decide what she thinks and how to act around her new little baby sister. Soooooo precious!!!





A proud Aunt Samantha with her new niece!!


Ellie Jane always looked like she wanted to suck her thumb. Her hands were always up around her face and mouth as you can see in the next picture with Aunt Samantha!! Maybe she'll be a thumb sucker like Landon and Addi? So cute!



Trying to get a full body shot while she was laying on her mama's bed. She also did not like it when she came out of her blanket. She liked being swaddled! Can't wait to see her again!!

Valentine's Day 2009

The month of Febuary was a complete whirlwind! After my last birthday post, every weekend was filled with an activity.

Two weekends of work and one weekend of Winterfest with 14,000 other people, predominately teenagers, in Gatlinburg, TN. I did not get any pictures of Winterfest this year but had a lot of fun. My mom came with me as a fellow chaperone and we had a great time being together. We even got snow on Sunday and that was really pretty.

Hence, I have fallen behind in my "blogging", which I do not like to do. I miss seeing what is going on in other's lives and I don't like losing time documenting our lives since I make it into a book using Blurb.com (which I highly recommend!). I am working on our 2008 book now and am excited about it. It is so fun to see all our past memories and I know we will enjoy looking at it for years to come!

So, even though it is a little late here is Valentine's Day at the Griners 2009, which actually had to be done on the 15th because I had to work on the 14th, and by the time I got home it was time to have dinner with friends and then it was bedtime. So our Valentine's Day this year was actually on the 15th before church.

Then, Mike and the kids went to church and Samantha and I drove to Nashville to spend sometime with our sister-mom-to-be. It was a really nice day! We took her out to lunch and had fun visiting and shopping all afternoon!! Sam and I drove back that evening, so it was a busy day. It was a wonderful day though, and had been a long time that just the 3 of us (minus any little ones) had done anything together.

This Monday morning Samantha and I will be driving back to Nashville, but this time with all the kids as we welcome little Ellie Jane!! We are excited!

So, on to Valentine's Day...


Landon and Addi opening up their Valentine Bags from preschool!! Man, some of the parents go all out for Valentine's Day with the candy and treats! Landon and Addi had all kinds of stuff. I remember only giving Valentine's cards, not toys too. Oh well, times change and this mom is learning!


Addi taking one last picture in front of her Cinderella princess room. After her party we left the decorations up for a while because she loved her "castle" room!

*Valentine's Day Morning at the Griners on Feb. 15th, 2009*
It was a Sunday morning so everyone, except for John of course, is dressed for church. Addi's dress was given to her by G-Mama for her birthday. Her preschool teacher thinks she looks like a "little sprinkle" and I tend to agree! So cute!















This was a double doozie Valentine Cookie Mike got for me from the Great American Cookie Company! They make THE best cookies in the world, as far as I am concerned, and I enjoyed every bite. And yes, I did eat almost the entire thing by myself, although not at one sitting! I did try and share some of it though, since that is what I am trying to teach my kids :)


Addi giving me a big smile and some static electricity too!!